Retrospring is an open-source federated social network. This tutorial will guide you through the steps to install Retrospring on NixOS.
Requirements:
Open the terminal and install Git:
sudo nix-env -i git
Next, clone the Retrospring repository from GitHub using Git. Enter the following command in the terminal:
git clone https://github.com/retrospring/retrospring.git
Retrospring uses HTTPS, and you need to generate a self-signed SSL certificate. Install OpenSSL using Nix:
sudo nix-env -i openssl
Generate certificates using OpenSSL:
sudo openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -sha256 -nodes -keyout localhost.key -out localhost.crt -subj '/CN=localhost' -days 365
Enter the required information, such as your country, state, and city of residence.
Install PostgreSQL using Nix:
sudo nix-env -i postgresql
Create a new PostgreSQL database:
sudo -iu postgres createdb retrospring
Set a password for the postgres
user account:
sudo -iu postgres psql -c "ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD 'your_password';"
Replace your_password
with your desired password.
Install the additional dependencies required by Retrospring using Nix:
sudo nix-env -i erlang elixir mix nodejs vim
Copy the default configuration files and edit them:
cd retrospring
cp config/config.exs.example config/config.exs
cp config/prod.secret.exs.example config/prod.secret.exs
vim config/config.exs
Edit config/config.exs
by replacing the following values:
config :retrospring_web, RetrospringWeb.Endpoint,
http: [port: 4000, protocol_options: [max_keepalive: 1_000_000, tcp_nodelay: true]],
url: [host: "localhost", port: 4000],
cache_static_manifest: "priv/static/cache_manifest.json"
with
config :retrospring_web, RetrospringWeb.Endpoint,
http: [port: 4000, protocol_options: [max_keepalive: 1_000_000, tcp_nodelay: true]],
url: [host: "your_server_ip_address", port: 4000],
cache_static_manifest: "priv/static/cache_manifest.json",
server: true,
secure_cookies: :always,
force_ssl: [rewrite_on: [:x_forwarded_proto], hsts: true]
config :phoenix, :serve_endpoints, true
config :phoenix, :services, true
Replace your_server_ip_address
with your server's IP address.
Next, edit config/prod.secret.exs
and set the database username, password, and host.
config :retrospring, Retrospring.Repo,
username: "postgres",
password: "your_password",
database: "retrospring",
hostname: "localhost",
pool_size: 10
Here, replace your_password
with the password you set earlier for the postgres
user.
Build and compile the application:
mix deps.get --only prod
MIX_ENV=prod mix compile
npm install --prefix ./assets
npm run deploy --prefix ./assets
Create the database:
MIX_ENV=prod mix ecto.create
MIX_ENV=prod mix ecto.migrate
Start Retrospring:
PORT=4000 MIX_ENV=prod elixir --erl "-ssl\_dist\_opt verify\_none" -S mix phx.server
Retrospring is now up and running on NixOS Latest. You can access it by visiting https://your_server_ip_address:4000
in your web browser.
Note that this installation is only suitable for development purposes. If you plan to use Retrospring in production, you should secure your SSL certificates with a trusted certificate authority, among other security best practices.
If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!
Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!